Hip protectors

ABSTRACT

A hip protector in accordance with at least one of the present inventions includes right and left pad assemblies, which each include a plurality of elongate pads that define respective anterior and posterior ends, extend in anterior-posterior directions, and are spaced from one another in a superior-inferior direction such that there is a gap between the anterior ends of adjacent elongate pads, and a garment on which the right and left pad assemblies are carried such that portions of the right and left pad assemblies respectively cover the right and left greater trochanters, the garment being configured to permit the size of the gap between the anterior ends of at least some of the adjacent elongate pads of the right and left pad assemblies to decrease as the wearer moves from a standing position to a sitting position.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present inventions relate generally to hip protectors.

2. Related Art

Hip fractures are a well-known problem, especially within elderlypopulations, that are frequently the result of falls and the associatedimpacts to the greater trochanter of the femur. Some conventional hipprotectors include a wearable garment on which compressible foam padsare mounted. The garment positions the foam pads in the hip regions, andeach pad is sufficiently sized to cover an entire hip region. The levelof impact protection provided by the foam pads is a function of foamdensity. The relatively dense foams that are necessary to provideadequate protection (i.e., foam that will not “bottom out”) tend to bestiff. Alternatively, hard shell covers (which are very stiff) may belaminated onto more compressible foam pads. Turning to the padsupporting garments, the garments tend to be tight, much like bicyclepants, in an effort to maintain the pads in the intended location overthe greater trochanter.

The present inventors have determined that conventional garment-basedhip protectors are susceptible to improvement. For example, the presentinventors have determined that conventional garment-based hip protectorsare uncomfortable and, accordingly, are less likely to be worn. Thecombination of tight garments and stiff pads can make conventional hipprotectors difficult to get on and off, especially for elderly persons.The relatively stiff foam pads also tend to buckle outwardly, as a wholeand into a somewhat arcuate shape, when the wearer moves from a standingposition to a sitting position, which makes sitting uncomfortable.Additionally, pads with hard shell covers do not breathe and can trapheat between the hard shell cover and the skin, which can cause thewearer to sweat. An improperly placed pad with a hard shell cover canalso actually increase the likelihood of injury from a fall.

SUMMARY

A hip protector in accordance with at least one of the presentinventions includes right and left pad assemblies, which each include aplurality of elongate pads that define respective anterior and posteriorends, extend in anterior-posterior directions, and are spaced from oneanother in a superior-inferior direction such that there is a gapbetween the anterior ends of adjacent elongate pads, and a garment onwhich the right and left pad assemblies are carried such that portionsof the right and left pad assemblies respectively cover the right andleft greater trochanters, the garment being configured to permit thesize of the gap between the anterior ends of at least some of theadjacent elongate pads of the right and left pad assemblies to decreaseas the wearer moves from a standing position to a sitting position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the inventions will bemade with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hip protector in accordance with oneembodiment of a present invention with the wearer in a standingposition.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the hip protector illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the hip protector illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a portion of the hip protector illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 4B is a plan view of a portion of the hip protector illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a section view taken along line 5A-5A in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5B is an enlarged version of a portion of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a section view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the hip protector worn under clothing withthe wearer in a sitting position.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the hip protector worn under clothing with thewearer in a sitting position.

FIG. 8A is a left side view of the hip protector with the wearer in asitting position.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a portion of the hip protector illustrated inFIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a portion of a hip protector in accordancewith one embodiment of a present invention.

FIG. 11 is a section view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following is a detailed description of the best presently knownmodes of carrying out the inventions. This description is not to betaken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose ofillustrating the general principles of the inventions.

A hip protector in accordance with one embodiment of one of the presentinventions is generally represented by reference numeral 10 in FIGS.1-3. The hip protector 10 includes a wearable garment 100 and first andsecond pad assemblies 200. The wearable garment 100 and pad assemblies200 are respectively configured and positioned relative to one anothersuch that the pad assemblies 200 will be located over, and centeredrelative to, the greater trochanters (whose locations are represented bythe circled GT) in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 when the hipprotector is worn. The pad assemblies 200 are also formed from material(discussed below) that is flexible enough to comfortably wrap around thehip area when the hip protector 10 is worn.

The exemplary wearable garment 100 includes a pelvic portion 102, withhip regions 104 and 106 and a crotch region 108, and a pair of legportions 110 and 112 that extend from the pelvic portion. A waist band114 is connected to the top (or “superior”) end of the pelvic portion102, and leg apertures 116 and 118 are located at the bottom (or“inferior”) ends of the leg portions 110 and 112. The leg portions 110and 112 may be lengthened, shortened or omitted in otherimplementations. The wearable garment 100 also defines a front (or“anterior”) side 120 and a rear (or “posterior”) side 122, and thepelvic portion 102, leg portions 110 and 112, and waist band 114 haveanterior and posterior sides. It should also be noted here that thewearable garment 100 is a loose fitting garment that is intended to beworn under clothing.

The exemplary pad assemblies 200, which are identical in the illustratedimplementation, each include a plurality of elongate pads 202 thatdefine respective anterior and posterior ends 204 and 206. Although thepresent inventions are not so limited, there are five elongate pads202-1 to 202-5 (FIG. 4A) in the illustrated implementation. The elongatepads 202 extend generally in the anterior-posterior direction, i.e., thepads need not be parallel to one another and may be offset from thehorizontal anterior-posterior direction by up to 12°. The elongate pads202 are also spaced apart from one another in the superior-inferiordirection such that there is a gap 208 between the anterior ends ofadjacent elongate pads. There may also be gaps 210 between the posteriorends 206. As used herein in the context of the elongate pads 202, twoelongate pads are both “adjacent” to one another and separated by a gapwhen the two elongate pads face one another with no other elongate pad(or resiliently pad material other than the optional thin border 218that occupies a portion of the gap) between the two pads. In thoseinstances where the magnitudes of the gaps 208 vary in theanterior-posterior direction, the distance between the anterior ends 204of adjacent pads 202 will be greater that the distance between theposterior ends 206.

The exemplary pad assemblies 200 also each include a connector pad 212that extends in the inferior-superior direction. The connector pad 212provides additional coverage for the greater trochanter and simplifiesthe manufacturing process (as compared to a pad assembly without theconnector pad). The connector pads 212 include portions of theassociated elongate pads 202. In other implementations, the connectorpads 212 may be omitted, as is discussed below with reference to FIGS.10 and 11.

As noted above, the exemplary pad assemblies 200 comfortably curvearound the hip areas. To that end, and referring to FIGS. 4A and 5A, theelongate pads 202 may include regions of increased flexibility (relativeto the remainder of the elongate pads) 214 that, in the illustratedimplementation, are located in the middle regions of the pads. Theregions of increased flexibility 214 create hinge points where theelongate pads can more easily bend. When the hip protector 10 is worn inits intended manner, the regions of increased flexibility 214 will beimmediately anterior of the greater trochanter. The increasedflexibility is created by reducing the thickness of the resilientmaterial which forms the elongate pads 202. Alternatively, the increasedflexibility may be accomplished by, for example, forming the pads fromtwo or more pieces that are connected to one another with a thin pieceof material. It should also be noted that the regions of increasedflexibility 214 extend in a direction that is transverse to, and notperpendicular to, the longitudinal axis LA of the elongate pads 202,which helps the elongate pads fold and wrap around the thigh when thewearer is in both the standing position and the sitting position. Theregions of increased flexibility 214 may also be omitted in otherimplementations.

Additionally, as discussed in greater detail below with references toFIGS. 7 and 8, the exemplary hip protector 10 is configured in such amanner that elongate pads 202 will move relative to one another (i.e.,bend, twist, bunch up or otherwise articulate relative to one another)so that the pad assemblies 200 can compress, without substantialbulging, as the wearer moves from a standing position to a sittingposition. The aforementioned regions of increased flexibility 214 areone aspect of the pad assemblies 200 that augment this functionality.Referring to FIG. 4A, relative movement of the elongate pads 202 may befurther augment by regions of increased flexibility 216 located inportions of the connector pad 212 that are between the elongate pads202. Here too, the regions of increased flexibility 216 may be createdby reducing the thickness of the resilient material which forms theconnector pads 212 or by, for example, forming the pads from two or morepieces that are connected to one another with a thin piece of material.

Each exemplary pad assembly 200 also includes a thin border 218 thatextends around the perimeter of the pad assembly, including inwardly andoutwardly between adjacent elongate pads 202. The border 218 occupiesportions of the gaps 208 and all of the gaps 210. The border facilitatesattachment of the pad assemblies 200 to the garment 100 by way oftechniques such as heat sealing and sewing.

Referring to FIGS. 4A-6, the anterior and posterior ends 204 and 206 andthe sides 220 and 222 of the pads 202 may be slanted (as shown), roundedor otherwise contoured in order to reduce the visibility of the padassemblies 200 through an outer garment that is worn over the hipprotector 10. The portions of the connector pad 212 that are between theelongate pads 202 may be similarly contoured.

With respect to materials, the garment 100 may be formed from materialsthat are commonly used in loose fitting garments such as, for example,cotton, polyester, and cotton and spandex blend (less than 10% spandex),polyester and spandex blend (less than 10% spandex) and cotton,polyester and spandex blends (less than 10% spandex). The pad assemblies200 may be formed from any material that provides the desired level ofimpact protection. Suitable materials include, but are not limited to,foams and elastomers, including smart foams that harden on impact suchas those sold under the tradename D3O®. Bladders filled with air andviscoelastic fluids may also be employed. In the illustratedimplementation, a thin layer of low friction material 224 (FIG. 5B),such as polyester fabric with an outermost layer of thermoplasticpolyurethane (TPU) that acts as a bonding agent, is secured to the topsurfaces of the pads 202 and 218 and the border 218. The low frictionmaterial 224 allows the wearer's pants or other outer garment to movefreely relative to the pad assemblies.

The pad assemblies 200 may be secured to, or otherwise carried by, thegarment 100 in a variety of ways. The pad assemblies 200 may bepermanently affixed to the garment 100 through techniques such asgluing, bonding, heat sealing, and sewing. Alternatively the pads may beremovable from the garment 100 and, for example, carried within pocketson the garment. In those embodiments where the connector pads 212 havebeen omitted (e.g., FIGS. 10 and 11), the elongate pads may affixed to asubstrate, such as a fabric sheet or plastic sheet, so that the pads maybe placed into the garment (and removed from the garment) as a singleunit. In either case, the pad assemblies 200 may be located on theexterior surface of the garment (as shown), which faces away from thewearer, or the interior surface.

Turning to the dimensions of the exemplary pad assembly 200, andreferring to FIG. 4B, the overall size of the pad assembly (less theborder 218) is about 6.25 inches in the anterior-posterior (AP)direction and is about 8.5 inched in the superior-inferior (SI)direction. With respect to the elongate pads 202 (from the anterior end204 to posterior end 206), the lengths L1 to L5 of the elongate pads202-1 to 202-5 are respectively about 3.8 inches, about 5.3 inches,about 6.1 inches, about 6.1 inches and about 4.5 inches. The widths W1to W5 of the elongate pads 202-1 to 202-5, measured perpendicularly tothe longitudinal axis LA (FIG. 4A) are respectively about 1.0 inch, 1.25inches, 1.25 inches, 1.25 inches, and 1.0 inch. The gaps 208 are largeenough to permit relative movement of adjacent elongate pads 202, butsmall enough to ensure that impact forces are spread across the top ofthe pad assemblies 200 during a fall. To that end, the distances D1 toD4 between adjacent elongate pads 202 are about 1.1 inches, 1.25 inches,1.25 inches and 1.25 inches, respectively. Turning to FIG. 4A, theangles Θ1 to Θ1 are between adjacent elongate pads 202 are about 10°,10°, 9° and 10°, respectively. It should also be noted that, as usedherein, the term “about” means±10%, and that the pad assemblies inaccordance with the present inventions are not limited to the exemplarydimensions.

As illustrated for example in FIGS. 7 and 8, both the pad assemblies 200of the hip protector 10 are compressed in a manner that is morecomfortable for the wearer (as compared to conventional hip protectors)when the wearer moves to a sitting position with the hip protector wornunder an outer garment (e.g., pants). For example, the distance betweenthe anterior ends 204 of the elongate pads 202 decreases and theanterior ends of adjacent pads are pushed into the gaps 208 toward oneanother. The loose fitting garment material within the gaps 208 betweenadjacent pads 202 simply folds. Portions of the elongate pads 202 mayalso twist about, for example, their longitudinal axis LA (FIG. 4A). Theconnector pads 212 also bend to accommodate movement into the sittingposition. As a result, the pad assemblies 200 compress, i.e., the sizeof the outer perimeter decreases, instead of bulging when the wearermoves to the sitting position. Put other way, the pad assemblies 200compress in a manner similar to a typical pair of pants when the wearermoves from the standing to sitting position.

It should be noted here that, due to the loose fitting properties of thegarment 100 and the relative stiffness of the pad assemblies 200, thepad assemblies will not compress in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 7and 8 (or will only compress slightly) unless the hip protector 10 isworn under an outer garment that holds the pad assemblies 200 againstthe wearers body. To that end, and referring to FIG. 8A, the loosenessof the garment pelvic and leg portions 102, 110 and 112 allows the padassemblies 200 to move slightly relative to the wearer and relative tothe tight waistband 114.

Another advantage of the present hip protector 10 is associated with theshape of the pad assemblies 200. To that end, and referring to FIG. 9,the present pad assemblies 200 cover more area in the superior-inferiordirection than a circularly-shaped pad (represented by dashed line CSP)that is the same size in the anterior-posterior direction. As a result,the present pad assemblies 200 can better accommodate movement of thepads during use and wearers with the same waist size and differences inother anatomical aspects, such as waist to crotch distance.

Another exemplary pad assembly, which is generally represented byreference numeral 200 a in FIGS. 10 and 11, is substantially similar topad assembly 200 and similar elements are represented by similarreference numerals. To that end, pad assembly 200 a includes a pluralityof elongate pads 202 a, having anterior and posterior ends 204 a and 206a, gaps 208 a between the anterior ends, and gaps 210 a between theposterior ends. A thin border 218 a extends around the perimeter of thepad assembly and between adjacent elongate pads 202 a. A pair of the padassembly 200 a may be incorporated into a garment, such as the garment100, to form a hip protector. In contrast to the pad assemblies 200, thepad assemblies 200 a do not include a connector pad that extends in theinferior-superior direction. The elongate pads 202 a also have an ovalshape, as opposed to the more rectangular shape of the pads 202, andthere are four elongate pads in the pad assembly 200 a, as opposed tofive in the pad assembly 200.

Although the present inventions have been described in terms of thepreferred embodiments above, numerous modifications and/or additions tothe above-described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent toone skilled in the art. By way of example, but not limitation, hipprotectors may include pad assemblies that are not identical to oneanother. It is intended that the scope of the present inventions extendsto all such modifications and/or additions.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for protecting a wearer's right and leftgreater trochanters, comprising: a right pad assembly including aplurality of elongate pads that define respective anterior and posteriorends, extend in anterior-posterior directions, and are spaced from oneanother in a superior-inferior direction such that there is a gapbetween the anterior ends of adjacent elongate pads; a left pad assemblyincluding a plurality of elongate pads that define respective anteriorand posterior ends, extend in anterior-posterior directions, and arespaced from one another in a superior-inferior direction such that thereis a gap between the anterior ends of adjacent elongate pads; and agarment on which the right and left pad assemblies are carried such thatportions of the right and left pad assemblies respectively cover theright and left greater trochanters, the garment being configured topermit the size of the gap between the anterior ends of at least some ofthe adjacent elongate pads of the right and left pad assemblies todecrease as the wearer moves from a standing position to a sittingposition.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the right padassembly includes an elongate connector pad that extends in asuperior-inferior direction and includes portions of the elongate padsthat extend in anterior-posterior directions; and the left pad assemblyincludes an elongate connector pad that extends in a superior-inferiordirection and includes portions of the elongate pads that extend inanterior-posterior directions.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein at least some of the adjacent elongate pads in the right padassembly are not parallel to one another; and at least some of theadjacent elongate pads in the left pad assembly are not parallel to oneanother.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the size of thegap between at least some of the adjacent elongate pads in the right padassembly increases from the posterior ends to the anterior ends; and thesize of the gap between at least some of the adjacent elongate pads inthe left pad assembly increases from the posterior ends to the anteriorends.
 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the right padassembly includes a layer of low friction material; and the left padassembly includes a layer of low friction material.
 6. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the right pad assembly elongate padscomprise foam pads that harden on impact; and the left pad assemblyelongate pads comprise foam pads that harden on impact.
 7. An apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein there is a gap between the posterior endsof adjacent elongate pads in the right pad assembly; and there is a gapbetween the posterior ends of adjacent elongate pads in the left padassembly.
 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the respectiveconfigurations of the garment and the first and second pad assembliesare such that the elongate pads will not overlap when the apparatus isworn by a wearer and the wearer is in the standing position and at leastsome adjacent elongate pads will overlap when the wearer is in thesitting position.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein atleast some of the elongate pads include a region of decreased stiffness.10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second padassemblies are identical.
 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the garment includes a pelvic portion and left and right legportions.
 13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the garment isformed from a material selected from the group consisting of cotton,polyester, and cotton and spandex blend (less than 10% spandex),polyester and spandex blend (less than 10% spandex) and cotton,polyester and spandex blends (less than 10% spandex).